The Indiana Athletics Department announced a new priority seating system for student tickets late Monday and issued a release on how it will work on Tuesday morning.

Details are available below:

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – After consulting with the leadership of the Indiana University Student Association (IUSA) and the Student Athletic Board (SAB), Indiana University Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Fred Glass announced a new men’s basketball student priority seating system to reward the most loyal student season ticket holders.

Under the new priority seating system, students earn -and have earned– priority points while they are in school by purchasing men’s basketball and/or football season tickets each year. To reward the most loyal student fans, the 3900 students with the most priority points heading into the 2012-13 school year will be guaranteed the lower bowl seats for the highly anticipated North Carolina game on November 27, 2012.

“We have the biggest and best student-section in the country and without a doubt they provide us with a tremendous home court advantage,” Glass said. “Our students have been with us in both good times and in bad, and we want to make sure that their loyalty is rewarded. We also want as many of our students as possible to get to experience the excitement of IU basketball.”

IU students earn priority points while they are in school by purchasing men’s basketball and football tickets. Students receive 5 points each time they purchase season tickets with a maximum of 10 points per year if they purchase them for both men’s basketball and football season. Also new this year, students will have an additional opportunity to earn loyalty points by attending the games for which they have tickets, or making certain their tickets are used by other students. One point will be given for each game attended or each time an individual ticket is scanned at the gate. Only the original ticket holder can earn loyalty points for the use of their tickets. The more loyalty points a student earns, the better chance they have of obtaining the student tickets allocated for post-season tournaments (NCAA, Big Ten Tournament, etc.). Student point totals for purchased season tickets are automatically transferred to alumni point totals following the student’s graduation from IU.

Under the new student priority point system, the more points a person acquires, the more opportunity individuals will have to attend premium games. In 2012-13, students or groups of students with the highest individual priority point totals or group average will be guaranteed one of the approximately 3,900 main level seats for the highly anticipated ACC/Big Ten Challenge game against North Carolina on November 27, 2012. While all IU home games are exceptional, premium games include highly-ranked opponents, select national programs, in-state rivals, and special event games such as an ESPN College Game Day game. Students may also purchase break game tickets for $15 per game and obtain priority seating.

Students may sit together in groups of two to eight people. Priority point totals for the group will be based on the average of the entire group. Thus the average figure will dictate the allocation of premium games and seating for the entire group. In addition to the new student priority point system, games will be allocated to students according to the traditional premium game and seat distribution system. All student season ticket holders will have an opportunity to see the Hoosiers match-up against both non-conference and Big Ten opponents in 2012-13. All students who purchase season tickets will get five games in the lower bowl and five games in the balcony.

“We really appreciate IU Athletics reaching out to us to find a way to reward loyal students,” said IUSA President Kyle Straub. “We think the loyalty point system is a great incentive for students to attend all the games,” added IUSA Vice President Pat Courtney.

Returning to a historical practice at IU since Assembly Hall opened in the early 1970s, more student season tickets were sold than the actual number of student seats available per home game. This return to tradition allows more students to experience the tradition and pageantry of IU men’s basketball. Since the early 1970’s IU has consistently had the largest student-section in the country at 7,800. This year, 12,400 student season tickets were sold. Though the demand exceeded the 12,400, IU Athletics capped it at that number to make sure that students would have the ability to purchase men’s basketball and football season tickets on their bursar bills. The bursar’s office needed a specific number by June 29th so they could have the necessary amount of time to distribute billing information to students and their families. Moving forward, IU Athletics plans to work with the bursar to see if there are other options in order to sell as many tickets as students demand rather than artificially capping at a specified number.

“We are thrilled that IU Athletics was willing to work with students to develop both a priority point and ticket exchange system,” said SAB President Chris Port. “It means a great deal to have our input valued.”

Because students are limited to the number of games they can purchase through their season ticket package, SAB’s Crimson Guard, the official student section of IU Men’s Basketball, provides an easy way for students to exchange or purchase student tickets for games they may not have received as part of their season ticket allocation. Visit Facebook.com/The-Crimson-Guard or follow @iucrimsonguard for details.

“I would like to thank the leadership of IUSA and the SAB for their significant contributions to developing this new priority point system -as well as the exchange program–in a way that will best and most fairly serve the needs and interests of our students,” Glass said.

Very nice deal for the students. I purchased BB and FB tix each year down there and went to 90% of the games on my tix, so this would have been right up my alley. Student tix are so damn cheap compared to what alumni pay outside of the university. You’d be silly not to get them unless you didnt care about the athletics program…which there are many students that dont.
Game nights were big nights in the Villas the first half of last decade! I’ll always remember walking (or trying to walk) over to Assembly or the Rock with my friends geared up for a big game. Nothing like pouring out of Assembly after a big win with all the crazy students…..felt like I was 21 again when we came pouring out high fiving students after IU beat UK last December.

Very nice deal for the students. I purchased BB and FB tix each year down there and went to 90% of the games on my tix, so this would have been right up my alley. Student tix are so damn cheap compared to what alumni pay outside of the university. You’d be silly not to get them unless you didnt care about the athletics program…which there are many students that dont.
Game nights were big nights in the Villas the first half of last decade! I’ll always remember walking (or trying to walk) over to Assembly or the Rock with my friends geared up for a big game. Nothing like pouring out of Assembly after a big win with all the crazy students…..felt like I was 21 again when we came pouring out high fiving students after IU beat UK last December.

stroot

Agreed 100%. I lived at Dunnhill my junior year – not because the places were nice (they weren’t…at all), but because it’s right at the corner of 17th & Dunn, and was a 2-minute walk to the tailgating fields, and 5 minutes to Assembly Hall.

If this kind of loyalty program was in place from 2003-2007, I would have been able to score some great seats for my senior year, rather than row 16 of the balcony, which we had more than a couple of times.

It may seem that way but upperclassmen should be awarded for their loyalty over the last year or two. This way everyone starts at the bottom and works their way up, or actually the other way around when considering seating positions.

Shop7

So can you get points by going to volleyball, soccer, wrestling, etc. events?

Great Timing

Thanks to this fantastic publicity, I would like to conveniently let students know the SAB call-out meeting is Thursday at 8p in Assembly Hall. You can get involved in helping all sports within the IU Athletic Dept. E-mail sab@indiana.edu for details!

Brian

Do you know if existing points accumulated as an alumni/former student (now back at IU as a grad student) will count towards seating? Or is this system basically reset at 0 as of this year since they are now implementing it for students?

Brian

Do you know if existing points accumulated as an alumni/former student (now back at IU as a grad student) will count towards seating? Or is this system basically reset at 0 as of this year since they are now implementing it for students?

Rich

So overdue. The only issue I have is the fact that since student points carry over to alumni points, some grads next year might jump some current recent-alumni (who might had season tix all four years as a student in the dark age). But moving forward this is GREAT.

Bill R

It also puts a bit of a dent in students selling their good seats for primo games to the highest bidder (IU fan or not). Now the students who get the best tickets are the ones that have been supporting IU athletics (not just BB), and they in theory would be less inclined to give up their shot at witnessing something great for a quick buck.

Overall I wish it was present when I was there because I would have racked up points like a mother. Instead I got balcony seats for the good games and lower level for N’western, etc.

LeeTimmer

I’ve been wondering FOR YEARS why IU wouldn’t let the students sit at the lower level. I know the answer, of course: high rollers pay higher prices. But come on: those seats should be used by students, much like the Izzone at MSU, to get them closer and cause just a little more intimidation. Good call by IU on this one.

Hoosiers__1

The only problem I have is that they take the average of the group. I’m a junior and have 25 points (didn’t buy football season tickets this year), but the other five guys in my group only have 15 points (never bought football tickets). I would rather sit in the lower section by myself with new people for the UNC, Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State games, then be stuck with my group in the balcony.

marcusgresham

Don’t take this as any kind of vote against The Hall because I love it, but when you can sell that many student tickets and you can pack the house, what are the odds of building a newer, bigger arena? Like something bigger than coRuppt Arena perhaps?

HoosierTrav

I personally would love for us to build something new and state of the art. It will attract all of the big time recruits and hopefully be able to accommodate the mass of students as well as the fans outside of campus.

As a grad student I should have 35 points then… 4 years of bball and 3 years of football season tix

gerald

I personally dont want to see a new design for the building because i have long believed that the shape of the building helps hold in noise….I would however love to see the exact same structure for a new building completely updated on the inside…it would be so beautiful….

If they do ever change design/build new i say we consult with architects and engineers who come up with the best shaped building to hold in sound so we can be the loudest around

Remy Willing and Abell

The difference between IU and UK is unreal . Here we are doing what we can to make sure our students get to enjoy something really unique and really awesome .While UK raises they’re prices and they’re best opponent playing at Rupp is a depleted Baylor team . And that’s why we have the best fans in the country and why our players play for the name on the front of they’re jersey ….not the back !

Recent Alum

I like everything except the part where student points transfer to alumni points. What does this do to recent grads? If you graduated three years ago with 0 points, and now someone graduates in 2013 with 35-40 points and those points transfer, recent grads are going to have pony up $5K just to keep their current priority ranking.

I give a couple of hundred bucks a year, pay my annual varsity club and AA dues and buy football tickets (even though I rarely make half the games). I don’t like the idea of a recent-graduate getting to my level (or past it) when I wasn’t rewarded for doing the same thing while in school.

Curious what others’ thoughts are on the transfer to alumni points.

Roberts Sales

Seriously, ever been to Rupp? Run down and disgusting. Their upper seats aren’t much better up high. I’m an avid IU grad, but surrounded by UK fans. Whenever I go there, I feel sick. Perhaps building an arena like the YUM center (U of L) would be great!

Spence

I think this is stupid. People who enjoyed all of last years games will now be able to enjoy all of this years games with all of the good seats? What about the students that weren’t here to watch last years games? Why aren’t we getting a fair chance at good seats this year? I don’t see the fairness in this, especially as a student who had been studying abroad and having to watch the games over a shitty internet connection at 5am in the morning at a youth hostel. Now I am rewarded by not having a fair shot at good seats. “Because you got to watch awesome games in the past, you will be able to watch awesome games now! If you didn’t get to see awesome games in the past, you won’t this year either! But you will pay the same!”

hoosierstateofmind

I don’t know about you, but I sure didn’t have $5k laying around when I graduated in ’97. If I did, it would have went to buying something to replace my college furniture that was well past its prime. So I wouldn’t worry about it, you probably won’t be passed up by that many recent grads.

hoosierstateofmind

I don’t know about you, but I sure didn’t have $5k laying around when I graduated in ’97. If I did, it would have went to buying something to replace my college furniture that was well past its prime. So I wouldn’t worry about it, you probably won’t be passed up by that many recent grads.

hoosierstateofmind

I agree. I love AH but at some point we’ll need to either make major upgrades or build new. Like most folks here if we build a new facility we should focus on the following (in order)
1) students close to the floor (this will generate more noise on the court than anything)
2) high $$ alumni/donors in good seats that can see over the students
3) building design that helps keep in noise
4) additional seating for students so we keep a large student section
5) limited advertising and no changes to the floor.

This is from a guy who graduated 15 years ago so it wouldn’t benefit me. I just think the students make all the difference and you have to reward them as well as the people who pony up the cash to make it happen.

hoosierstateofmind

I think the difference is that for every student you put close to the court in the east or west main, you have to continue to put students behind them b/c the students (rightfully) stand the entire game and alumni do not. MSU has built their facility so that the students can all stand around the court, and the alumni/fans behind them can sit without their view being blocked. Until we fix this at AH, we are stuck with the current setup where students seats have to go from the first rows all the way to the end or else you’d have angry alumni/fans who want to sit who couldn’t see over students.

Sounds like your situation is one that fewer students would have. You still will get 5 lower level seats and 5 balcony seats the same as other people. Don’t be a negative nancy.

Hepfan7

You should check with ticket office/varsity club. When I get my annual points statement, I get credit for having student season tickets in football and basketball from ’00-’04. I believe that’s always been the case. Correct me if I’m wrong.

Pritch24

I like this except for my freshman year. Just because I haven’t been to any games as a student yet doesn’t mean that I’m not a HUGE Indiana basketball and football fan. Grew up bleeding cream and crimson, and still do. It stinks that I’ll be suffering through the bad seats or no seats to the good games, but I guess it’ll pay off come the following years after I try to attend every basketball and football game. Do games during break count too?